LETTER: We can't afford the bypass

How can we afford $357 million for a Willits bypass? When California state services-education, (14positions in Willits alone) child services and health care, law enforcement, fire protection and state parks, are being slashed-how can we afford a boondoggle that we know will not benefit Willits' current traffic problems?

In fact, if allowed to proceed, this project will compound traffic circulation in Willits for at least six years. Six years of construction will produce the equivalent of 80 years of carbon and dust pollution. This increased pollution in the Willits bowl will affect the respiratory health of small children, the aged and those with existing respiratory problems, without improving the Highway 20 intersection.

Frequently, Willits Little Lake Valley is shrouded in dense fog. It chills me to imagine a two-lane, freeway speed, runway of death, with no median barrier and no emergency access for six miles. Head-on collision in the valley, fuel spilled, CHP nightmare.